LAKERS -at- KINGS - 4-13-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

One To Go… After the draft this summer, Jordan Clarkson said he believed he was one of the better PGs in the draft, “maybe the best,” he said.

Once he got into the Lakers rotation, he went to work to prove that point. He hasn’t looked back.

In January, he averaged 9.8 points and 2 assists. In February, 13.8 and 4 assists. In March, 15.8 and 5.2 assists. In April, he’s up to 18.9 points per game and 6.9 assists (that even includes that 2-point game when the Clippers trapped him to get the ball out of his hands).

You can tell vets and other players are taking notice of him. He stuffed the stat sheet tonight with 23 points, 5 boards, 6 assists and 5 steals before twisting and ankle in the final minute and heading to the locker room. The steals were another career-high mark for him.

If we weren’t down to the final game, the depleted Laker roster might be taking open auditions for warm bodies. Vander Blue got the call up today, didn’t even get a chance to warm up and was thrown into the mix to learn on the fly. Hard to win games like this, and the Lakers fell 102-92 to the Kings, fading in the fourth quarter on the second night of the back-to-back.

The Lakers close out the season Wednesday, then fingers crossed come lottery night.


Clarkson -- -- You didn’t think Clarkson could escape the PG injuries, did you? He rolled both ankles in this one, going to the locker room in the final minute on the second one. He was putting in huge minutes before that sidelined him. All the injuries required it. He didn’t go down without a fight, coming up with a career-high 5 steals. Just a very active game defensively, not only leading the team in steals but he also had some excellent challenges in transition to get stops. Offensively, he sank some threes, jumpers and got into the paint for finishes around the rim. Check out that cross-over on his first ankle twist in the first half. Kid has some serious skills and is only going to improve. That was an elite change of directions to score that layup, before hurting himself (he said that was minor, just popping out of his shoe and landing awkwardly). He was hobbling off the court after the second one where a defender stepped under him, so we’ll have to see how he feels. “It hurts, but I’m all right,” Clarkson said, unsure if he’d be able to go in the next one yet. Scott said he doubts Clarkson will go as big of minutes in the next one if he does. Clarkson said he never got tired despite playing nearly the whole game. “He’s playing like he’s trying to get that rookie of the year,” JHill said afterward. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 10-21 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 47 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He sank a pull-up wing jumper. Great reach on his man from behind to swipe the ball and it led to a Brown breakaway dunk. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He missed a couple of 20-footers. He snagged a bad pass in the back court, attacked and hit Brown for the layup. He attacked, took contact and missed at the rim on the two-for-one sequence. He missed a three. He attacked off an early offense high screen and hit the floater. He whipped a pass under the hoop to Boozer in transition for a layup. He sank an 18-footer with the shotclock winding down. He threw a pass away, but recovered to challenge the shot on the break and get a stop. He crossed over beautifully, changing directions in a flash and scored a layup around defenders before going down awkwardly. He pushed it up off a made basket, probed, drew the D and dumped it to Black for the jam. He worked off the Black screen, probed and hit Black under the hoop for the easy one. He had 8 points on 4-9 shooting and 5 assists in the half. Second Half: He missed a 20-footer with the shotclock winding down. He pushed it up, ball-faked and scored the layup. He fed the post, cut and scored a layup on the return pass. He took an inbounds pass and hit a three, the Lakers first of the game. He blew past Miller but couldn’t finish at the rim. He missed a chuck from three with the shotclock low. He iso’d, lost Miller on the dribble and scored the layup. He attacked at the end of the quarter and missed the tough finish. He sank a wing jumper off the pinch post. He sank a three straight away. Nice recovery to steal a pass in the paint. He telegraphed a pass but got back in transition and swatted away a lob pass to get a stop, but then he lost it again on the other end. He attacked and was blocked from behind. He rejected his man in transition. He came down on a foot on a jumper and rolled his ankle, he made one FT. He missed a deep three straight away.

Black -- -- Some good chemistry with Clarkson again tonight in the first half. Then Black faded away a bit in the second half. Scott went to other bigs in the fourth to close this one after Black picked up his fourth foul late in the third and sat. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He faked left and went right in the post for the jumphook. He grabbed a miss, missed the putback, got it back and scored over defenders. He got away with three seconds and missed under the hoop. He jammed on the break with Clarkson. He scored at the rim when Clarkson found him rolling. He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting to go with 7 boards. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Hill -- -- Scott dusted him off as he slid Kelly to the SF spot. Hill had the jumper going early and often. These are shots he wasn’t making last season, nor did he really have the confidence to, either. That confidence carried over to the second half where he kept clanking away. “I thought he played pretty good until he took four or five crazy shots,” Scott said. That’s about right. No offensive boards or blue collar work in this one. He had 10 of his points in the first quarter, hitting several in a row during one stretch. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 9-19 shooting to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed an awkward post-up not hitting rim on the turnaround one-handed chuck. He sank a 21-foooter. He sank an 18-footer on his next touch. He hit a jumphook just beating the shotclock. He swished a 20-footer next time down. He faced up and swished the short jumper. He sank a 17-footer straight away off a jab step. He missed a face-up jumper. He hit a short turnaround in the paint. He ball-faked and missed a 20-footer. He spun and missed a wild scoop shot. He had 14 points on 7-11 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He attacked on the catch and was tapped on the jumphook. He spotted Kelly cutting backdoor for the jam. He attacked baseline, spun back the other way and hit the jumphook. He airballed a lefty jumphook. He faced up and swished the wing jumper. He drew a double and found Clarkson cutting for the layup. He missed a step-back chuck from the wing. Not close on another iso step-back. He missed a baseline jumper. He didn’t protect the ball in the post and it was swiped.

Brown -- -- I’m not sold on Jabari’s ability to be an NBA player yet, but he does have some things that are in his favor. He has a knack for seeking out the contact and drawing FTs, and he also has potential to be a consistent knockdown three shooter. He’s shooting just .360 from three (prior to this game), but he was certainly a three shooter in college. That will only improve. He wasn’t connecting from three in this one (just 1-6). He led the team in assists, doing a good job of being aggressive and looking for teammates. He also led in FTs again. Jabari had 5 of the Lakers 8 points from the FT line. The Kings shot 28-36 from the line. That was the difference. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-17 shooting (1-6 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 46 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He let a man fly by, moved in and sank the baseline jumper. He dunked off the Clarkson steal and bustout. He attacked and dumped it to Davis for the dunk. He attacked in transition and scored a layup through a couple defenders. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He missed a wing three. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Clarkson. He missed a layup on the break. He missed a step-back three. He was rejected at the rim. He attacked off the three line, sought contact and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked baseline, got the contact and drew more FTs, he made one. He had 11 points on 4-9 shooting to go with 5 assists. Second Half: He let a man fly by, moved in and hit the jumper from the top of the key. He missed a long wing jumper. He sank a wing three. He airballed a wing jumper having to create at the end of the clock. He got tapped on a three. He attacked and charged on the baseline. He attacked and missed. He missed a three. He missed another three. Hard foul in the paint for more FTs, he made both.

Kelly -- -- Back in the SF spot. Obviously, out of necessity because Scott knows it’s a failed experiment. Really nothing to say about this. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a wing three. Not close on a pull-up 13-footer. He strip-blocked his man in the post. He missed a quick-fire wing jumper. Not close on a long wing three. Second Half: He snuck backdoor and Hill found him for the reverse jam. Nice reach on help D to strip a ball away. Not close on a baseline jumper, sheesh. He made a tech FT.

Boozer -- -- You don’t know what to expect from Boozer after not getting consistent minutes. His shot wasn’t there but he did a good job on the boards pulling down 10 (5 offensive). With Hill and Boozer getting minutes tonight, that meant no time for Sacre. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He missed an 18-footer. He swished a jumper off the two-man game with Clarkson. He missed an elbow jumper. He threw a pass behind a cutting Brown, turnover. He scored a layup when Clarkson found him under the hoop in transition. Second Half: He tipped in a Clarkson missed drive at the end of the quarter. He missed a face-up jumper. He missed a tip, but tipped in the second one. He missed an elbow jumper. He leveled a man on a hard screen, then charged over Miller when he got the ball (Kings flying everywhere). Nice strip in the post to get the stop.

Davis -- -- “The one thing we have been doing is fighting and giving coach Scott everything we’ve got,” Davis said. He and Black certainly seem to be the most consistent in that fashion. Tonight, Davis had the big numbers with 14 boards. “Me and TBlack, we’re definitely playing with the same energy. Me since the first game I got here. TBlack since the first game he got here,” Davis said. Great job on the offensive glass in this game, giving the Lakers multiple second-chance opportunities. He led the team with 9 offensive boards. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (9 offensive) and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He jammed off the drive and dish from Jabari. He was blocked on a layup. Second Half: He biffed a layup off a great feed from Clarkson. He missed a jumphook after getting an offensive board. He put back in a Boozer miss. He cleaned up a missed drive by Blue. He grabbed a missed drive and was blocked. He battled for another offensive board and just missed the And-1 layup, he made one FT.

Blue -- -- “Today when I woke up, I never expected to be here right now,” Vander said. No chance to warm up before the game, he was thrown in the mix. He had signed his contract right outside the gate at the airport, they took a No. 2 jersey and pasted a 1 in front of it and threw him out there. “I just wanted to make sure I pick my spots and try to play off these guys,” Vander said. Pretty solid game considering all that. He had one of the highlights of the game, jumping a passing lane to take it for a dunk. Scott will likely get him more minutes in the next game and give Clarkson some rest (assuming Clarkson plays). Clarkson said it was tough playing with Blue because they had to direct him around court since he didn’t know the plays. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Nice recovery to block his man from behind. He was blocked on a three. Quick baseline attack and he drew contact for FTs, he missed both. He attacked across the lane and flipped in a layup with his left. He attacked and missed a reverse (should have tried to power it in instead of the airball windmill). He jumped a passing lane and took it the distance for the dunk. Second Half: He attacked the rim, missed, but Davis cleaned it up. He attacked and stepped out of bounds. He sank a wing three to cut it to 1 with 4:25 left. He got backdoored for a layup.

Scott -- -- Strong start by Hill, hitting just about everything on several straight possessions. They led 16-12 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Hill sat for Boozer with 4 minutes left, Lakers up 2. Davis is for Black… Blue in for Brown with the Lakers up 6… They were tied 24-24 after the first quarter… He started a Davis, Boozer, Brown, Blue, Clarkson lineup… Black and Hill in, Boozer and Davis out, Lakers down 2… Hill picking back up where he left off. Lakers transition D not picking up anyone and Scott called a timeout… Good job possessing the ball. The Lakers had just 2 turnovers to go with 8 offensive boards in the half... They were tied 51-51 at the half. The Lakers were 0-6 from three, Kings just 1-8… Very dull basketball for most of the quarter as they dumped the ball to Hill a ton… Black picked up his fourth foul late in the third and Scott brought in Davis, his first sub with just over 3 minutes left, Lakers up 3… The Lakers trailed 75-74 heading into the third… He started a Davis, Boozer, Blue, Brown, Clarkson lineup… Clarkson playing huge minutes… He brought back in Hill with 3:48 for Boozer, Lakers down 5… Kelly in at PF… The Lakers faded on the second night of the back to back… Not that it matters much, but the Lakers were the last team in the NBA to finally lose 60 games as a franchise…

[SweetP]

Just one more to go, thanks DB.

Loved Clarkson's effort and fire.
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[Megaton]

Clarkson has the IT factor. Regardless whether he plays on Wednesday or not, proud of what he has done in only his first year here. It's truly astonishing how much better he has gotten since the start of the season.

[KLS]

If there is a bright spot this season, JC's development has to be it. Lakers sure know how to pick a draft. Hope Randle next season will prove his worth too.

[Shaber]

Thanks!

What a misery of the season.

And when will the injuries eventually stop piling up on Lakers?
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[Shaber]

I think when a player lands on someones foot it should be an automatic flagrant foul.
No matter if it is in unintentional, this is so freaking dangerous. Just like an elbow to the face. Straight up flagrant, end of discussion.
Make sure you do not hurt the other player. And know that when you do there are consequences.
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[ElginBaylor]

Black and Blue...
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Not a legend

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[bws94]

Thanks, DB.

[sf2099]

thank you db

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. End of a long, rough season tomorrow. There's always a silver lining somewhere though. Hopefully the silver lining is a top 5 draft pick who plays like a top 5 draft pick next year.

Then there's Jordan Clarkson - number 44 pick who played like a top 5 draft pick this year. The later it gets in the season the more convincing his game. Kudos to the Lakers scouting him out and spending some cash for him.

And then there's Julius Randle, who looked very promising in the later preseason games. I think he's going to shine next year.

And there's always a chance Kobe can put one last season in and go the distance.

Plus a late first round pick - I wonder who's on the Laker scouts' short list?

[calistrtballr]

need to rest clarkson. he's our future